Like already indicated elsewhere, this kit is the best aircraft kit ever made.  Brilliant engineering and accurate outlines give me an incentive to buy more than the one presented here.

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Two points though for you to consider before building the model. While the engine is detailed and fits well within the thin cowling plates, no such engine existed. It is too modular, (not to mention understandably that the RR trade mark is missing.) As it is OOB, Tamiya provides only a sample of the pipes that engulfed the engine. The task of reconstructing the rest is confounded by the variety of Merlin engines that had their individual accessory and piping arrangement.  Hence, not having the specific engine manual, I stopped at some stage to figure out which pipe goes where.

The second and more important issue are the decals. Thick decals plague many of Tamiya's aircraft kits. Nonetheless, it has not been a critical issue as the surface detailing of older kits was minimal. However, in this kit (and the A6M5) the decals do not match with the fine riveting detail. Do yourself a favor and get some thin aftermarket decals to avoid an unpleasant surprise. (I spent hours "thinning" the roundels to their place).

And yes, I know about the wheel covers, but this is just a model.

Rafi Ben-Shahar

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